Look at the Cross

Homily for Tuesday of the 5th Week in Lent

In today’s Gospel text, we hear Jesus say to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.”

However, in the reading from the Book of Numbers, we learn that those Israelites who look at the bronze serpent will be spared. Both of these references to looking remind me of a poem that I have always loved and which some of you may have heard before:

Look at the Cross

If you would like to know God, look at the cross.
If you would like to love God, look at the cross.
If you would like to serve God, look at the cross.
If you hope for eternal happiness look at the cross.
If you wonder what you are worth, look at the cross.
If you wonder how much God loves you, look at the cross.
If you wonder how God tries to prevent you from the yawning jaws of Hell, look at the cross.
If you wonder how much He will help you to save your immortal soul, look at the cross.
If you wonder how much you should forgive others, look at the cross.
If you wonder how much your faith demands of you, in humility, poverty, charity, meekness and every virtue, look at the cross.
If you want to learn unselfishness and generosity, look at the cross.
If you wonder how far your own unselfishness should go to bring others to Christ, look at the cross.
If you want to understand the need for self-denial and mortification, look at the cross.
If you wish to live well, look at the cross.
If you want to die well, look at the cross.

Let us use the title of this poem as our mindfulness trigger today.